A 24-hour care unit for the elderly will open on December 3 in the Horadok district

December 2, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A round-the-clock care unit for lonely elderly people and disabled individuals will open on December 3 in the Horadok district, Director of the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Population (TCSOP) of the Horadok district, Natalya Beresneva, told a BELTA correspondent. The decision to establish the unit on the basis of the former hospital in the village of Smolovka was made last year. Br285 million was allocated from the local budget for its renovation and equipping. Sponsorship for the purchase of necessary furniture, appliances, and equipment in the amount of Br15.6 million was provided by the international charitable public association "Sofia", and Br4.5 million by enterprises and organizations of the Horadok district. Twenty elderly residents of the district living in remote and sparsely populated villages have already expressed their desire to move into the new unit for the inter-seasonal period. Seven of them will take part in the grand opening ceremony of the facility tomorrow. The rest of the residents will move in soon after passing medical examinations. In total, the unit is designed to accommodate 30 people at a time. Ten full-time employees, as well as workers from the paramedic and obstetric station located in the same building, will provide care for the elderly. The round-the-clock care unit in Smolovka will be the second facility in the Horadok district specializing in providing assistance and regular care for lonely elderly people, noted Natalya Beresneva. A special residential building for lonely pensioners and disabled individuals operates in Horadok, which currently houses over 80 people. The need for further development of this system in the district will be considered based on the results of the unit's operation and demand in 2010-2011. As reported by the Committee for Labor, Employment, and Social Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, a total of 18 round-the-clock care units have been established at 27 TCSOPs in the Vitebsk region, housing about 570 people. Round-the-clock care units can be classified as small-capacity boarding houses, each accommodating an average of 30 people. They are located as close as possible to the place of permanent residence, and the living conditions are close to home. The costs of servicing one person in such facilities are 2 times lower than in large-capacity boarding houses. "This is a progressive form of social service, so it is obvious that it needs to be further developed," the regional executive committee emphasized. Other methods are also used to assist lonely and single citizens in the region. For example, 12.5 thousand elderly people and disabled individuals receive social services at home. The number of recipients of care benefits for disabled people of Group I or individuals who have reached the age of 80 is rapidly growing. Currently, there are already 6.3 thousand such people (3.4 thousand in 2008, 5.4 thousand in 2009). More than 7 thousand citizens are served by recipients of this type of benefit. Approximately 3.5 thousand people receive social assistance in 15 boarding houses in the region. -0-